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ostensible

[ o-sten-suh-buhl ]
/ É’Ėˆstɛn sə bəl /
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See synonyms for: ostensible / ostensibly on Thesaurus.com

adjective
outwardly appearing as such; professed; pretended: an ostensible cheerfulness concealing sadness.
apparent, evident, or conspicuous: the ostensible truth of their theories.
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Origin of ostensible

First recorded in 1730–40; from French, from Latin ostēns(us) , variant of ostentus (cf. ostensive) + French -ible-ible

OTHER WORDS FROM ostensible

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH ostensible

ostensible , ostensive
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Ā© Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use ostensible in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for ostensible

ostensible
/ (É’ĖˆstɛnsÉŖbəl) /

adjective
apparent; seeming
pretended

Derived forms of ostensible

ostensibility, noun

Word Origin for ostensible

C18: via French from Medieval Latin ostensibilis, from Latin ostendere to show, from ob- before + tendere to extend
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition Ā© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 Ā© HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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